Water shield for dishwashers



July 6, 1965 T. w. DEVINE 3,

WATER SHIELD FOR DISHWASHERS Filed May 10, 1963 INVENTQR. 1; 75m 144 flew/7e United States Patent 3,192,936 WATER SHIELD FOR DISHWASHERS Tom W. Devine, 4703 W. 78th Terrace, Prairie Village, Kans. Filed May 10, 1963, Ser. No. 279,381 7 Claims. (Cl. '134183) This invention relates to a shield for dishwashers of the commercial type which are provided with an entrance opening and an exit opening to allow the dishes to be washed to pass therethrough, it being the purpose of the shield to prevent water from passing out of said openings and splashing upon the operator of the machine.-

It is the primary object of this invention to provide a shield in the nature of a plate which is disposed vertically in perpendicular relationship to the entrance or exit opening of a dishwasher and to one side of said opening, preferably on the side thereof on which the operator of the machine will stand whereby to prevent the splashing of water through said opening and onto the operator of the machine as he places dishes into the machine or removes dishes therefrom. t

shield in the nature of a substantially flat plate having an uppermost edge and a base edge, the base edge being disposed in a horizontal plane substantially coincident with the bottom of the opening adjacent which the plate is disposed, the uppermost edge of the plate being disposed in a horizontal plane parallel to that of the base edge of the plate and spaced vertically therefrom whereby said uppermost edge is in a plane substantially intermediate the upper and lower edges of the opening.

A yet further aim of the present invention is to provide a substantially flat, vertically disposed plate which, when positioned adjacent the opening of a dishwasher, has an outer edge which is spaced from said opening and an inner edge, the inner edge of the plate being provided with a flange, the said edge also being provided with a pair of ears, said ears being offset with respect to said flange whereby said flange and said ears may cooperate to embrace a strip which surrounds the opening in connection with which the shield is to be used.

Other objects of this invention include details of construct-ion, disposition and placement of the water shield which will become apparent from the following specification and accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view showing a dishwasher of the commercial type and illustrating a water shield as contemplated by this invention positioned adjacent the exit opening of such a dishwasher;

:FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 22 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of one form of the water shield chosen for illustration.

The water shield, broadly designated by the numeral 10, is adapted to be used in conjunction with an automatic dishwasher of the type used in commercial and industrial establishments, said dishwasher 12 having a supporting base 14 which carries the essential components of the dishwasher, these including a wash compartment 16 which has an entrance opening (not shown), and a rinse compart' ment 18 having an exit opening 20, the exit opening having a curtain 22 in overlying relationship thereto, said exit opening 20 being defined, on each side thereof, by strips 24 which form a part of the housing of rinse compartment 18, the upper edge of the exit opening 20 to which the curtain 22 is secured, being defined by a downwardly extending portion 26 of the top of rinse compartment 18.

It will be appreciated that the wash compartment 16 is substantially similar in construction to the rinse compartment 18 in that it has an opening which may or may not have a curtain such as 22, overlying the same, the opening ice being defined by a pair of opposed strips similar in nature It is conventional practice to use, in conjunction with dishwashers such as .12, a table, conveyor, rack or the like broadly designated as 28, which may be an integral part of the dishwasher 12 or may be a separate component. In either event, the table, rack, conveyor or the like 28 is disposed immediately adjacent the entrance and exit openings of the dishwasher whereby to aid in the placement of dishes into the wash compartment 16 of the dishwasher 12 and in the removal of dishes from the rinse compartment 18 of the dishwasher 1-2. Thus, when the dishwasher 12 is to be operated, a tray of dishes is inserted in the entrance opening thereof and moved longitudinally through the dishwasher 12 as by a conveyor or the like, the dishes being washed in compartment 16 and rinsed in compartment 18, the washing and rinsing normally being accomplished by water which is delivered to the said compartments '16 and 18 under high pressure whereby to elfectively clean the dishes moving through the dishwasher 12. As the tray of dishes leaves the dishwasher 12 it, due to its longitudinal movement under the urging of a conveyor or the like, will normally force curtain 22 upwardly about itspoint of hinged connection with portion 26, the tray of dishes then moving out of the dishwasher 12 through exit opening 20 and onto the table such as 28. t

It will be appreciated that as a tray of dishes or the like is placed into the dishwasher 12 through the entrance opening it is necessary for the operator of the machine to push the tray of dishes into the dishwasher 12 or at least position the same sufliciently within the entrance opening whereby the same may then be moved by the conveyor belt within the dishwasher and, by the same token, when a tray of dishes is removed from exit opening 20, it is necessary for the operator of the dishwasher -12 to grasp the tray of dishes to move the same outwardly from the machine. During such operation, the curtains covering the respective openings in the dishwasher 12 are swung to a position whereby the water being delivered to the interior of the machine under high pressure can pass outwardly through the entrance or exit openings and when this occurs it is normally at a time when the operator of the machine is positioned adjacent such openings. Thus, the shield 10 is adapted to be positioned adjacent either the entrance opening of a commercial dishwasher such as 1-2, or adjacent the exit opening '20 thereof whereby dishes or the like may be inserted into or removed from the dishwasher '12 without the operator thereof becoming splashed with water from the machine.

To this end, the water shield 10 consists of a substantially fiat plate 36 having a normally uppermost edge 32; a normally lowermost or base edge 34; an outer edge 66; and an inner edge 38. The inner edge 38 is provided with 'a flange 40 which has a central portion 42 and a pair of opposed end portions 44, said end portions 44 being spaced from the central portion 42 by notches 46 and 48 respectively, said notches 46 and 48 being formed when cars "50 and 52 are struck from the flange ilL said ears '50 and 52 being offset with respect to the plane of flange 40 and thereby providing a space :54 between said ears 50 and '52 areasee a em't openings thereof, the same depending upon the configuration and construction of the dishwasher.

In the form of invention chosen for illustration, the strip 24adjacent one side of the exit opening 20 is embraced between the ears and 52 and the flange 40 whereby to position the plate 36 in a vertical position, the same being held in said position by the action of the ears 5! and 52 and the flange 4i} in gripping the strip 24. When disposed in said position the flange 49, including central portion 42 and end portions 44 thereof, is disposed interiorly of the dishwasher, the same lying inwardly of the strip 24. The ears 5% and 52 are, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawing, positioned exteriorly of the washer, the ears 5% and 52 overlying the outer surface of the strip 42 which is adjacent the opening in connection with which the Water shield 18 is to be used. vIn this respect, it will be appreciated that the water shield, such as it may be designed in such a manner as to be disposed on either side of the exit opening or on either side of the entrance opening, it merely being necessary to reverse the positioning of the means for securing the shield 14) to the strip 24- ot dishwasher 12.

However, in the embodiment of the invention chosen for illustration, the shield 16 is shown as positioned adjacent one side of the exitopening 20, the shield it being disposed in perpendicular relationship to said opening 20 and having the base edge 34 thereof in engagement with the upper surface of table 23, said base edge being disposed inwardly of a pipe such as 55 which defines the side edge of the table 28 and serves to connee the same with the dishwasher 12.

When the shield 10 is so positioned with respect to the dishwasher 12, the outer edge 36 of the plate 36 is spaced from the dishwasher, and more particularly, irom the strip 2 the edge 36 being in substantially parallel relationship to the strip 24. The uppermost edge 32 of the plate which is substantially parallel to the base edge 34 thereof, lies in a horizontal plane, which plane is disposed intermediate the upper edge of the opening it! and the lower edge of said opening. The base edge 34 is likewise in a horizontal plane, said plane being substantially coincident with the lower edge of the opening 26. It will be appreciated that while the means above described is suflicient to position the plate 3% in the desired relationship to the exit opening 20, additional securing means might take the form of a pair of brackets or clips which would be secured adjacent the base edge 34 of the plate 3% and embrace the pipe 56 whereby to give additional rigidity to the plate 36 as the same is disposed in its vertical position.

With the water shield 10 disposed as hereinabove described, it will be appreciated that as the curtain 22' of the exit opening 243 is swung upwardly to allow a tray of dishes to pass from the washer 12, the water spray which would normally emanate from the opening 2% when the curtain 22 is raised, will be prevented from splashing upon the operator who is normally standing adjacent said opening 21 to aid in the removal of dishes from the washer 12. Likewise, when a shield such as 10 is positioned adjacent the entrance opening of a dishwasher such as 12, a tray of dishes may be inserted into the washer 12 while the same is in operation and water is being delivered thereinto without the operator being sprayed or splashed with water which emanates from the entrance opening when a curtain or the like covering the same is raised or swung to admit dishes into the washing compartment 16.

In addition to protecting the operator of a machine such as 12 from being sprayed or splashed with water, it will be appreciated that the shield 19 also serves to prevent the passage of Water from the machine onto the floor and, therefore, the same aids in maintaining a sanitary surrounding for the dishwasher 12 at its place of operation.

Other modifications and improvements of the invention above described will be apparent to those skilled in the art and thus it is intended to be limited only by the scope of the claims appended hereto.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In combination with a dishwasher having means defining openings therein to allow dishes to pass therethrough; a water shield for such an opening for preventing the passage of water therefrom, said shield being in the form of a vertically disposed plate positioned perpendicularly with respect to said opening and to one side thereof, said plate having a laterally extending flange removably securing the same to the means defining said one side of the opening.

2. A water shield for dishwashers as set forth in claim 1, said plate having a base edge lying in a substantially horizontal plane coincident with the plane of the lower edge of said opening.

3. A water shield for dishwashers as set forth in claim 2, said plate having a normally uppermost edge, said edge lying in a horizontal plane substantially intermediate the upper and lower edges of said opening.

4. A water shield for dishwashers as set'forth in claim 3, said plate having an outer edge spaced from said open- 111g.

5. A water shield for dishwashers as set forth in claim 4-, there being a strip surrounding said opening, said securing means being in the form of a flange on the edge of said plate opposite to said outer edge, and ears offset with respect to said flange, said flange and said ears embracing the strip therebetween whereby to maintain said plate in a vertical position.

6. A water shield for dishwashers as set forth in claim 5, said flange being positioned interiorly of said opening, said ears being positioned exte-riorly thereof.

7. In combination with a dishwasher having an entrance opening and an exit opening to allow dishes to pass therethrough, there being a strip at each of the side edgesof each of said openings; a water shield disposed adjacent each of said openings for preventing the passage of water therefrom, said water shield comprising a vertically disposed plate having a base edge lying in a horizontal plane substantially coincident with the plane of the lower edge of the opening adjacent which the plate is disposed, an upper edge lying in a horizontal plane parallel to the plane of the base edge, said upper edge being positioned at a point intermediate the upper and lower edges of the opening adjacent which the plate is disposed; an inner edge provided with a flange, said flange having a central portion and a pair of end portions, and a pair of cars formed adjacent said inner edge and spaced from said flange whereby to provide a space between said ears and said flange, said ears and said flange cooperating to embrace said strip whereby to retain said plate in a ver tical position adjacent one side of the opening to be shielded, said plate being in substantially perpendicular relationship to'said opening.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,281,864 10/18 Spar're 134-72 X 1,512,918 10/24 Forsgard 13472 X 1,546,821 7/25 Blakeslee 13483 X 2,175,259 10/39 Erickson.

CHARLES A. WILLMUTH, Primary Examiner.

J. NORTH, Examiner. 

1. IN COMBINATION WITH A DISHWASHER HAVING MEANS DEFINING OPENINGS THEREIN TO ALLOW DISHES TO PASS THERETHROUGH; A WATER SHIELD FOR SUCH AN OPENING FOR PREVENTING THE PASSAGE OF WATER THEREFROM, SAID SHIELD BEING IN THE FORM OF A VERTICALLY DISPOSED PLATE POSITIONED PERPENDICULARLY WITH RESPECT TO SAID OPENING AND TO ONE SIDE THEREOF, SAID PLATE HAVING A LATERALLY EXTENDING FLANGE REMOVABLY SECURING THE SAME TO THE MEANS DEFINING SAID ONE SIDE OF THE OPENING. 